


Family Secrets

by shanachie



Series: H50 Shifter Verse [5]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: AU, M/M, Series, Shifter Verse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-17
Updated: 2013-03-17
Packaged: 2017-12-05 15:13:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/724714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shanachie/pseuds/shanachie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Danny swears if he repeats something enough times, he’ll get it through Steve’s thick skull. Maybe if he shows the other man what he means, it’ll be clearer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Steve looked up as Danny stuck his head in the door. “I’m out for the weekend. I’ll see you…wait what are you doing this weekend?”

Steve pointed to the calendar. “Full moon, Danno. I’ll go up into the mountains later tonight. Don’t you have Grace this weekend?”

Danny nodded, shutting the door as he came in and sat down. “So you’re just gonna hide out in the mountains all weekend? Do you really think that’s the best thing?”

Steve shrugged, playing with the pen on his desk, his entire concentration on it. “I’ve been doing it for years. It’s the safest thing for everyone.” Thinking, he pulled his keys out and tossed them to Danny. “Take Grace to my place. It’ll be empty and she loves the beach. And then you don’t have to go to the public one.”

“That’s really not fair to you,” Danny protested. “You wouldn't be able to come home if you wanted to.”

Steve shrugged. “I’ve never really needed to. I drive up and leave the truck. And come back on Sunday. It works.”

“What happened to us being partners?” Danny asked. “I thought we were working together on this thing. You’re the one who wanted dating and everything. And by dating I mean you seeing the bimbo five nights a week and throwing me in the path of speeding bullets on a daily basis.”

“We _are_ partners,” Steve insisted. “Cat is…”

“I know what Cat is,” Danny interrupted. “Cat is you attempting to pretend that what’s happening between us isn’t. Look Steve. I get that you’re not sure about _us_ , but lemme ask you something about Cat. Does _she_ know? Does she know where you disappear to once a month? Is she the one who spent six hours huddled on the floor with you six weeks ago when your damn tiger decided it had had enough of you being a pissy asshole?”

“You know she isn’t,” Steve grumbled. “What do you want me to do?”

“Make a decision.” Danny heaved himself to his feet. He’d gotten rid of the cane, but was still moving slowly and it showed on the days he spent a long time at his desk. “Just make a decision, Steve. Before someone makes it for you.” He dropped the keys back on Steve’s desk and started out of the room.

Steve always moved faster than him (those damn long legs), so he really wasn’t surprised when a hand stopped him from opening the door. He froze as a body pressed up against him. Once he’d found out the truth about Steve, he’d noticed certain things about the taller man. One thing was that Steve was more…handsy with him, especially around the time of the full moon. If Danny wasn’t going where Steve wanted, when Steve wanted—Steve might very well move him there. Steve also tended to be more…affectionate.

Now Danny froze as Steve nosed against his neck, warm air blowing across his sensitive nape. “Steve,” he started as a hand spread across his midsection. “I don’t think…” He stopped as something warm, moist, and very wet left a trail across his neck. “Did you just _LICK_ me?!” He tried to cran his neck around to see the other man who had plastered himself to Danny’s back. “ _Gross_ , Steve.”

Steve hmm’ed in response as every attempt Danny made to unwrap himself resulted in the smaller man simply winding up in another position and more entangled. “Okay, clearly you’re finished with this argument and the tiger’s decided for you. But I…” Danny tried to unhook the arms that were wrapped around his neck. “Are you sure your other half isn’t an octopus? Damn it, Steve. Let go!” Danny was aware that if he was willing to hurt Steve; he’d be free of him in a matter of seconds but he wasn’t able to do that no matter how much Steve pissed him off. “You know this was a lot easier when you were a tiger, at least then I got to sit down,” he commented after a few minutes of Steve pawing him.

Steve’s head lifted as if he should have scented the change. “You’re hurt?” he demanded.

“No, I’m not hurt, you idiot, at least no more than usual. My knee just doesn’t like certain positions for long periods.” Danny yelped as Steve dragged him over to the couch, pushing him down onto it and then cramming himself in next to the smaller detective. “Okay. Ouch! Not on top of me!” Danny protested. He shoved Steve off, pointing to the other side of the couch. “Next to me. Stay. Good tiger. Geezus. Boundaries!”

“Can I see?” Steve reached for Danny’s belt, only to be slapped away.

“No, you can _not_. You don’t have those rights. And before you growl at me neither does anyone else which is more than I can say for you.” Danny sighed at the expression on Steve’s face at his words. “Oh, don’t. Don’t do that. Please don’t give me the drowned kitty look. You know I hate that look.” Sighing again he held his arms out, allowing Steve to burrow up against him. “Really? What am I going to do with you?”

Steve shrugged. “Dunno.”

“And now we’re reduced to one word sentences. Awesome.” Danny shoved him over, then sighed as Steve simply moved back into place. “All right. This?” He moved a hand between their bodies. “Obviously not working. I thought we were going to try the whole partners thing? And I don’t mean just at work.”

“We are,” Steve insisted.

“No, we really aren’t.” Danny ran his free hand through his hair. “Okay, why are you going up into the mountains?”

“Told you,” Steve answered and when Danny just raised his eyebrows in response, he growled. “Fine. To be away from everyone.”

“Because…” Danny prompted.

“Because no one wants to be around me,” Steve answered. “Happy?”

“Ecstatic,” Danny told him. “Is it because you might hurt someone or just because you’re a bastard like usual?”

“There’s no good reason.” Steve stared at his boots instead of looking at Danny, who despite everything had continued running his hand through Steve’s hair.

“Okay.” Danny took a moment to breathe deeply, considering the options. They’d spent so much time dancing around things, but in this he was certain. Steve was calmer, more focused—not less prone to harebrained stunts because he didn’t think anything would change that about Steve McGarrett—but just _more_ when the two of them were in sync. And one of the things that let them be that way was Steve not being so goddamn stubborn about this other side of himself. Danny still wasn’t sure why Steve seemed to think Danny couldn’t handle it; why he pushed Danny away only to pull him back the next day, but he knew some part of Steve _needed_ Danny. “Explain something to me?” he asked and Steve nodded almost unconsciously. “Do you need to stay in tiger form for the whole weekend?”

“I don’t _need_ to, but I tend to. It’s easier when I’m up in the mountains and away from people. Safer too.”

“How about this then? You stay down here this time and Grace and I’ll stay with you.”

Steve jerked upright, pulling away from him. “No! You…”

Danny held his hand up. “Stop right there. _You_ won’t hurt me. And you’ve said more than once that your tiger likes Grace’s scent. I think it’s about time you two spent some more time together. We’ll take it slow and introduce you two to each other in small increments.”

Steve looked at him nervously. “She’ll…” he protested.

Danny shook his head. “No, she won’t,” he promised. “If we tell her this is important and it’s a secret, she won’t. As long as she knows who she can talk to, she’ll be fine.” He gently brushed a hand through Steve’s hair. “You need to trust me. You just need to trust me.”

Steve leaned into his touch, rubbing his head against Danny’s hand. “I do trust you,” he whispered.

“All right then. So you’ll go home? And wait for us?” Danny questioned. “I’ll go get Grace and head over to your place. We’ll have dinner and talk to her.”

It took a minute, but Steve finally nodded. “All right,” he agreed.

“Good.” Going with his instincts, Danny brushed a kiss across his forehead, pressing just hard enough for Steve to feel it. “Go straight home. You may not pass go, you may not collect anything on the way. We’ll figure out dinner once Grace and I get there.”

“I can do dinner,” Steve replied.

“You could do dinner for you and me,” Danny retorted. “Not for you, me, and a seven year old. So just wait.” He pulled back a little at a time until Steve seemed steady on his own. “You’ll be okay to get home?” he questioned.

“Yeah.” He leaned forward, resting his forehead against Danny’s for a minute. “Thanks.”

“Isn’t this part of what I’m supposed to do?”

Steve didn’t answer, but heaved himself to his feet, moving back towards his desk. “Don’t you need to get Grace?”

“We will discuss this, McGarrett,” Danny warned as he headed out. “But you’ve got a reprieve for now.”

No matter what, his little girl could always bring a smile to his face and this time was no different. When the gate slowly opened and she came running towards him, Danny felt a smile spread across his face. He bent down, scooping her into his arms, and hugging her tightly as he picked her up. “Hey, monkey,” he greeted her. “So what’dya say about us heading over to Steve’s place?” he asked as he set her back down and shouldered the pack with her weekend clothes.

“For the weekend? Or just for dinner?” Grace asked as she skipped around the car.

Danny got her settled before heading back for the driver’s seat. “Weeeell,” he dragged out the word, grinning at Grace’s pout of annoyance. “Steve invited us to spend the weekend at his place. We have something we’d like to discuss with you and part of it involves being at his house for the weekend.”

“So can I go swimming?” she asked.

“Probably not tonight,” Danny replied. “But yes, tomorrow. And maybe Sunday before you go home.”

“And surfing?” she asked slyly. “Since Steve’ll be there and all.”

“No, I don’t think so and don’t think I don’t know what you just tried.” Danny tried to look at her sternly. “Besides I think once we talk to you, you’ll have enough on your mind.”

“What do you need to talk to me about?” she asked.

“It’s not really something I need to talk to you about,” he explained. “It’s something _we_ need to talk to you about. And, Grace, I need to tell you and we’ll stress again. This is a secret. You can’t tell anyone this, okay?”

“Like a birthday or a Christmas secret?”

Danny turned onto Steve’s street, trying to think of something to equate it to so Grace would understand. “It’s an Uncle James and Uncle Chase secret,” he finally answered. “You can only talk to certain people about it.”

She nodded, considering his comments so far. “So you and Steve? And Uncle Chin? Anyone else?”

“Kono,” he answered promptly. “And how did you know it would be okay to talk to Chin?”

“It just is about family stuff,” she answered as they pulled into the driveway.

Danny smiled at his daughter; she always had been smarter than him. “You always have been quicker than me about things,” he answered. “Now, I want you to listen closely to what Steve and I have to tell you tonight, all right, Monkey?”

She nodded, then began to wave frantically when she spied Steve standing on the porch. “Daddy, can I go see Steve?”

Deciding that delaying her would only cause her to whine at him, Danny nodded his permission. “Slowly,” he called and shook his head as she darted up the walkway.

As he grabbed their bags out of the trunk, he heard Grace squeal, and Steve call, “Aloha, ankle buster!”

Looking up, he saw that the former SEAL had hefted his daughter up and was holding her upside down, her feet over his shoulder. “When she throws up on you, I’m not going to have any sympathy.”

Steve tipped her upright, carefully setting her on her feet. “Aw, you wouldn’t throw up on me, would ya, Grace?”

“Not until after I’ve eaten,” she answered. “What _are_ we having for dinner?”

Steve made an abortive move towards Danny, obviously wanting to touch him, but not sure how the other man would feel about it in front of his daughter. “Well, I told Steve we’d have to discuss that when we got here. Cause Steve loves healthy foods only and you, my darling monkey, are a bit of a picky eater at times.” Danny handed over one of the bags as he spoke, running his hand down Steve’s bare arm.

“I’m not _that_ bad,” Steve responded and Danny swore he wanted to stick his tongue out. “And I already made dinner. It’s keeping warm.” He led the way into the house, guiding them towards the guest rooms. “Stuffed baked chicken, French fries, and string beans. And if there’s something Grace or you doesn’t like, we can work around it.”

“What’s it stuffed with?” Grace asked as they dropped the bags in each room before heading towards the dining room. “And can I go swimming tonight? Please?”

“Cheese and bacon and then its wrapped in more bacon. And I don’t…” Steve trailed off as he caught sight of Danny shaking his head. “It’ll be late when we’re done eating, Grace, so maybe we’ll save the swimming for tomorrow,” he changed mid-sentence.

“Grace, we already talked about this,” Danny broke in. “And that was not nice trying to do an end run.” He pointed towards the doorway where she could see the bathroom. “Go wash your hands for dinner.”

Steve looked abashed when he turned back to him. “I’m sorry,” he started.

“Don’t worry. She’s had seven years to prefect her strategy. You’re doing fine.” He smiled at the other man. “The dinner sounds like a wonderful idea. Do you need help with it?”

“Nope, I got it.” He glanced towards the bathroom where they could still hear the water running. “Maybe you should go check on Grace?”

Danny nodded, accepting that Steve wanted to do this himself. That on some level, Steve saw this as taking care of them and wanted to show that he could. Leaning against the door frame, he looked down at his daughter who was watching the water run through her fingers, opening and closing them in different numbers as if she could capture it and hold it for later. “I haven’t seen you do that in a while. Are you all right, Grace E.?” he asked.

Carefully she turned off the faucet and dried her hands before turning to face him. “Why are we staying at Steve’s, Daddy?” she asked seriously.

Silently Danny cursed his knee because he couldn’t kneel down to her height like he preferred to do when they talked like this. Deciding it would have to do, he moved around her and took a seat on the toilet, pulling her close to him so she was looking at him. “You know I don’t lie to you, right?” he replied and waited for her nod. “Even if sometimes I don’t tell you everything,” he added. She nodded again. “Sometimes,” he sighed, trying to figure out how to explain it to her without telling her everything yet. “Sometimes there are things that grown-ups know that kids might not be ready for and that doesn’t mean we think you’re too little but we just want to protect you for a while longer.” He tried to equate it to something she would understand. “It’s kinda like…”

“Like how I’m not supposed to touch your gun?” she asked.

He winced, remembering that blow-up with Rachel over something that he’d had perfect control over because his little girl was a lot smarter than her mother gave her credit for sometimes. “Yeah, a bit,” he agreed. “In this case, we think you’re old enough to understand, but in order for us to tell you, we have to be here, at Steve’s.”

Grace considered this for a few minutes before throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him. “I love you, Daddy.”

Glad that whatever was troubling her was being put aside for the moment, Danny squeezed her back. “Danno loves you, too, Grace E.” He hefted her up, groaning as if she weighed a ton. “Now let’s see what Steve made for dinner.”

He’d noticed Steve hovering while he’d been talking to Grace, but the man had used his cat reflexes and was gone from sight when they actually re-entered the dining room. Danny stuck his head into the kitchen, smiling when he spotted Steve fussing with something. “Hey, thought we were eating?”

“You two looked like you were pretty serious in there. I didn’t want to interrupt,” he replied.

“We were and now we’re done. And trust me; you do not want to keep her waiting too long. She’s worse than Kono about getting to eat.”

Steve’s lips quirked and he ducked his head. “I’ve got it. I’m coming.”

“Good. Let’s eat then.” Danny turned to head back into the other room.

“Hey, Danny?” When Danny looked back over his shoulder, Steve asked, “Since when do you call her ‘Gracie’?”

“Ah, it wasn’t Gracie, it was Grace E.” Steve looked confused at the difference. “Her full name is Grace Elisabeth Williams. Grace E. Williams.”

Steve’s attempted smile turned into a full out grin. “Aw that’s kinda cute. Almost cuter than Danno.”

Danny glared at him. “Shut it, McGarrett. Remember what I know about you.”

“None of it is nearly as adorable as those two things,” Steve replied brushing past him with the pan of chicken.

“Really, kika?” Danny retorted, following him into the dining room.

“Daddy,” Grace said crossly as they took their seats at the table. “You shouldn’t use bad words in front of me.”

Wondering when his life had gotten so out of hand that his own daughter was against him, Danny decided it wasn’t worth trying to defend himself. “Eat your dinner, Grace.”


	2. Chapter 2

After supper, Grace immediately tried to escape, but Danny gave her the fatherly evil eye and she immediately turned around and began clearing the table. Steve didn’t seem a bit surprised although it was most likely something he and Mary had been required to do as children. They managed to work around each other pretty well, putting leftovers away and getting the dishes rinsed and into the dishwasher. Danny managed to convince Steve that just this once it would be safe to leave the pans in the sink. Glancing around the kitchen as Steve finished putting the pots and pans in to soak; Danny nodded to the back door, sending Grace out to the lanai. “You ready to do this?” he asked as Steve paced around the kitchen again, looking to make sure everything was cleaned up.  
  
“Ya know maybe this isn’t such a good idea,” Steve replied. “I’m not sure she needs to know.”  
  
Danny crossed the room to him, backing Steve up until the taller man was pressed up against the cabinets, bracketed by his body. “We talked about this. We discussed this. Hell, we’ve screamed at each other about this. If you are serious about this, we need to tell Grace.”  
  
Steve tried to take a breath in, tried to settle his nerves, but when he inhaled, all he could smell, all he could sense was Danny, was his hoa hana. And that just reminded him that he still hadn’t told Danny everything. That Danny himself didn’t know the entirety of what was going on between them. Danny knew that Steve wanted him, the tiger wanted him for Steve, but he didn’t know all of what it meant. He didn’t know that sex with him would bind Danny to him…for life.  
  
When Steve didn’t move, Danny reached out, brushing his knuckles down the taller man’s chest. Steve shuddered under his touch, leaning towards him and wrapping an arm around his waist. As Danny looked up to see what had captured Steve’s attention, Steve tilted his head down. He waited a moment and when Danny didn’t pull away, he closed the last few centimeters between their mouths; covering the shorter man’s lips with his own. As much as he longed to devour Danny’s taste, to open his mouth and coax Danny’s open and to find out what exactly his hoa hana tasted like at the source, he was conscious of Grace just a few short feet away so he settled for ghosting his tongue out quickly and swiping it across Danny’s lips, dragging the flavor into his own mouth to savor as Danny pulled back, glancing into the backyard to check on his daughter. “She’s fine,” Steve murmured.  
  
“There’s an ocean…” Danny protested.  
  
“And she knows better than to go anywhere near it without supervision,” Steve replied, taking advantage of having Danny so close to him. He ran his fingers over the other man, mapping him, memorizing him.  
  
“Steve, I…”  
  
Steve released him, even as he asked, “Do you really think I’d put her in any danger?”  
  
Danny turned back to face him, a hand on the door. “No, but do you understand that sometimes I’m a little irrational about my daughter?”  
  
Steve smirked, snagging a bottle of water and following him out onto the lanai where Grace was looking into the darkness, a look of almost sadness on her face. His retort died on his lips as he tried to figure out what she was searching for. “What’s going on?” he asked Danny quietly.  
  
“She was looking for fireflies,” Danny answered. “I had to tell her there weren’t any here.”  
  
“So let’s give her something she won’t find anywhere else,” Steve replied. He rolled his shoulders, trying to ease the tension out of them. “I can’t…I can’t change in front of her like I did you. It’s not something she needs to see. But I want to tell her. Sit her down here and tell her. Like we talked about and then…I’ll walk away and come back…”  
  
Danny ran a comforting hand down his back. “We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”  
  
Steve shook his head, glancing up at the moon. “I can’t. I won’t. Tomorrow night, I won’t be able to hold on and I’ll  _have_  to change. It’s easier with you here. Easier to decide  _when_  I want to change, but…if I don’t change at all.”  
  
“You’re more of a pissy bastard than usual. I get that.” Danny smiled in response. “I guess there’s no easy way to do this?” When Steve shook his head in reply, Danny raised his voice, calling, “Grace? Come here, please.”  
  
Grace came willingly enough, climbing onto Danny’s lap when he sat down and facing the two of them curiously. After a few minutes, she looked over her shoulder at Danny. “Danno, what did you want?”  
  
Danny took a deep breath, trying to figure out how to phrase this. It wasn’t like he told his daughter every day that someone she trusted could turn into a wild animal. “Steve is pretty special, Monkey,” he started.  
  
“I  _know_  that,” she interrupted in the tone of voice that said he was just being silly.  
  
“Let me,” Steve broke in, putting a hand on Danny’s shoulder. He came off his chair, moving to crouch in front of the two of them. “My family came to the Islands many, many years ago,” he began and Danny looked down at him. This wasn’t a story that Steve had shared with him, not this way, but he had a feeling this was the way Steve himself had heard it at one time. “One day, a girl of the family went for a walk into the jungle. She came across a kika, a tiger.” He saw Grace’s eyes light up at the word and nodded, but put a finger to her lips when she started to speak. “At first she was terrified because she was armed with only a small knife, but the tiger didn’t attack. Instead the animal lay down near her and waited until  _she_  approached him. Then, to her amazement he turned into a young man.”  
  
“But, Steve!” Grace started to protest.  
  
“Who’s telling this story?” Steve asked, looking up at her with an expression of mock reproof.  
  
“All right, but it better have a believable ending,” she told him, crossing her arms and looking down her nose at him.  
  
Danny grinned at Steve over her head, proud of his little girl for not taking him at face value even if he knew the truth. “The young man thanked her for not stabbing him because that tended to hurt. Then he explained that he was a very special kika. The Hawaiians had asked many, many, many years before for a protector who could walk among both the animals and the people. They had been blessed with a family who could shift between tiger form and human form. To help them adjust to their new form, the family was gifted with two helpers. As a family they were guided by another family who knew their secret who became known as Alaka’I their guides. And each individual shifter eventually found their hoa hana. He was very happy that she had not hurt him or run from him because he had been watching her for many weeks, trying to work out how to approach her. Normally the hoa hana was someone who was aware of the history of the shifters, but every so often someone new was chosen and this time she was the one.”  
  
“But what does this have to do with me? Or Daddy?” Grace asked. “We aren’t part of your family. Wait. Are you like the tiger? Or the woman?” She bounced on Danny’s knee. “You can turn into a tiger?!”  
  
Steve chuckled softly. “Why does your daughter believe me and it took some convincing to get you to believe me?”  
  
“Because my daughter is seven and still believes in Santa Claus,” Danny pointed out and when Grace turned to glare at him, he added, “I didn’t say there wasn’t a Santa, Monkey! It was an example, pointing out that you believe things…why am I explaining this to you?”  
  
“Because you’re the dad,” Grace answered reasonably. “That’s what you do.”  
  
“She’s got you there,” Steve replied.  
  
Danny pointed at Steve. “You, not helping.” Tilting Grace back in his arms, he tickled her for a moment, making her giggle. “And you, missy. Are you okay with this?”  
  
Grace considered the story for a moment, once Danny had flipped her back upright. “Can you turn into a tiger?” she asked Steve seriously.  
  
“I can,” Steve answered. “And that’s part of the reason your daddy and you are here for the weekend. I can choose when I turn into a tiger, but with the full moon up, it’s better for me to decide to be a tiger.”  
  
“Can I see you be a tiger?” she asked, leaning forward.  
  
“I don’t want to change in front of you,” he told her. “It’s not very pretty and it’s not something I think you should see, but yes, once I’m a tiger, you can see me.” He held her eyes for a moment. “You understand that I’ll be very big and kinda scary, right? I won’t be a little kitty, but I won’t hurt you. I’ll still be Steve.”  
  
Grace stuck a finger in her mouth for a moment, considering it, before twisting around and looking at Danny. “Have you seen him?”  
  
Danny nodded. “He’s big. And he’s a little scary at first, but he won’t hurt you. And I won’t leave you alone with him until you feel safe with him. Because I trust him with you.”  
  
Steve smiled at him, knowing the amount of trust Danny was showing in him by saying that to Grace. Pushing himself to his feet, he pointed to the strand of trees off to one side. “I’m going to go over there. I’ll come back as a tiger, okay?”  
  
Grace turned herself around to peer at Danny as Steve disappeared into the trees. “Is this the special thing you wanted to tell me about?”  
  
Danny nodded. “Yeah.” He hugged Grace to him. “Are you okay with this?” He studied her for a minute. “Little scary, huh?”  
  
“You said he’s still Steve though?” she asked. “He’ll still understand us?”  
  
“Yup,” Danny confirmed, then nudged her as he noticed the fronds stirring. “Looks like he’s coming out.”  
  
Grace clutched at his arm as the large tiger slinked towards them. He stopped a few feet from them, sitting down on his haunches and eying them. Grace eyed him back, but Danny was pleased to see she didn’t look scared…exactly. She was definitely fascinated, but she also wasn’t moving any closer to him. Steve seemed to realize that this might take a while and that it wasn’t going to be easy because he didn’t move towards Grace, but acted as if he wasn’t even interested in her. After a few minutes of staring at her, he got to his feet again, stretching from tip to tail; Danny knew he had to be itchy, but he wasn’t indicating that he wanted to be scratched like normal. After watching the two of them for a moment, he stepped around them and took off down towards the beach. “Where’s he going?” Grace asked.  
  
“Looks like the sand or water,” Danny observed. He shook his head; apparently even in cat form the crazy man was a fish. Sighing, he shifted Grace so he could get to his feet. “Come on, we’d better follow him.”  
  
Steve was at the water’s edge, but hadn’t actually gone in. As Danny and Grace approached him, he looked over his shoulder then turned back, dropping into the sand and putting his head down. “Are you trying to hide, Steve?” Grace asked as she crouched down a few feet from him. “You almost can.” She hunkered down lower so she was eye to eye with him and inched closer until their noses touched. “Hi,” she whispered.  
  
Danny eased himself down next to them, reaching out and rubbing the top of Steve’s head. “Any particular reason we had to chase you down here?” he asked, not really expecting an answer.  
  
Steve shifted his gaze to Danny for a minute before facing Grace again as if the girl would run away if he took his eyes off her for too long. Grace was still staring at Steve, but hadn’t touched him yet. Danny edged closer, putting his arm around his daughter. “Grace E, remember it’s still Steve. He’s not going to hurt you. Just gentle…”  
  
“Like with Mr. Hoppy?” Grace asked.  
  
“Probably not that gentle,” Danny replied.  
  
Grace reached out tentatively and stroked a hand across Steve’s head, giggling as he arched into the touch. “He’s soft,” she said in amazement. She reached out again with more confidence this time and settled into a rhythm after a minute, scratching around his ears and across his head. Steve closed his eyes in bliss, edging closer to her as she leaned forward to reach better. “You like that, don’t you?” she asked him.  
  
Danny laughed at the sight; not sure which amused him more. “You glutton,” he teased Steve. “I think you wanted to tell her just so you had someone else to pet you.”  
  
Grace turned to look at Danny. “It’s okay if I do this, right, Daddy?”  
  
“Yes, Monkey, it’s okay. Steve’ll let you know if he doesn’t want you to do something.”  
  
Steve stood up abruptly, shaking off the little bit of sand that stuck to the top of his fur, and nudged at first Danny and then Grace. “What’s he want?” Grace asked, receiving a shrug from Danny and another nudge from Steve in response. “You know this doesn’t work very well since you can’t tell me what you want,” she informed him. The tiger looked at her, before stretching out and licking up her arm and across her face, drawing a giggle out of her. She wiped her face and glared at him. “Yuck!”  
  
Danny rolled his eyes, glad that Grace was taking this well. “Steve, she did have a bath already today.”  
  
Steve shifted, a movement Danny just caught but didn’t have time to react to; as the tiger lunged. His breath left his lungs in a whoosh as they hit the sand, Grace letting out a squeal until she realized Steve hadn’t hurt him, but was standing over him and licking his face. Danny was attempting to protest, but every time he opened his mouth, Steve darted his tongue near it. Finally Danny got his arm up between the tiger’s mouth and his face blocking him. “Get off me, you  _asshole_!” he shouted.  
  
“Dad- _dy_!” Grace yelled at him and Danny twisted his head to see her staring at him with her hands on her hips. “Swear jar!” she scolded him.  
  
Danny dropped his head back into the sand. “How is this my life?” he whined. “I’m being pinned by a three hundred plus pound tiger and my daughter is yelling at me for swearing.” He shoved at Steve again as the tiger didn’t move. “Just get off.”  
  
With a huff, Steve finally moved, padding over to Grace and allowing the girl to put an arm around his neck. Danny glared at them both as he hauled himself to his feet and proceeded to brush the sand and dried seaweed from his body. “Both of you, back to the house. And, Grace? It’s bed time when we get up there.”  
  
“But, Daddy,” Grace started to protest.  
  
“Grace, you want to go swimming tomorrow. And I assume do other things…so I suggest you head back up to the house now.” Danny leveled her with his best  _‘I mean business’_  look and she went without anymore protest, well aware that he would withdraw his permission if she didn’t follow directions. With her well on her way, Danny turned his attention to the tiger now sitting at his side. “And, you. Don’t think we aren’t going to have a  _LONG_  talk when you’re human again so I know you aren’t ignoring me or pretending to misunderstand me. And it’s going to start with me talking and you not saying a word. I do believe there are some things you’ve neglected to tell me about you, your nature, and what a hoa hana is.” He called after Steve who started to slink away, “And do  _not_  think you can hide by  _NOT CHANGING BACK_!”  
  
Steve had vanished by the time Danny made it up to the house, but Grace was in her pajamas and waiting for him. She was obviously bursting with questions, but let Danny lift her up in his arms and carry her towards the room they’d put her things in earlier. She laid her head on Danny’s shoulder as they made their way up the stairs. “Can I call Steve kika now?” she asked as Danny set her down on the bed.  
  
“You’ll have to ask Steve that tomorrow,” Danny replied, pulling the blankets back and tucking her in. “What are we reading tonight?”  
  
“Pippi Longstocking,” she answered.  
  
“Okay.” Danny found the book in her bag, settling in next to her and finding the page they’d left off on. As he started to read, Steve nudged the door open and padded inside. Danny smiled at him, but continued to read to Grace. Long before he finished the chapter, Grace had drifted off and he shut the book, kissing her softly and slipping from the room with Steve on his heels. He stretched as he started down the hall; angling towards the guest room where he normally crashed on the nights he ended up staying at the house.  
  
He’d almost made it to the room when something slammed into him, sending him careening into the wall. Only throwing his hands up in reflex kept him from slamming his head against the sheetrock. “What the fuck?” he demanded, looking down and finding Steve at his side. “Are you  _trying_  to kill me?”  
  
Steve grabbed the seam of his jeans, tugging him in the direction he wanted the blonde to go. “All right, I got it. Danny follow the tiger dictator. Could you not rip my pants?” Danny sighed as Steve didn’t let go of him. “Yeah, I figured that was a long shot.” When Steve growled softly at him in response, he just glared. “Yeah, not any scarier than when you do it as a human since I kinda doubt you’re gonna actually hurt me on purpose.”  
  
Steve didn’t dignify that with a reply, but continued to herd Danny down the hall and into his own room, finishing by pushing the other man so he sat down on the bed. Danny looked around, then over at Steve who had taken up a guard position in front of the door and was quite clearly settling in for the night. “Excuse me? What exactly is your point here?” Danny insisted. “My stuff and my bed are down the hall.”  
  
Steve huffed, but hauled himself to his feet and walked over to the closet, pulling a duffel bag out and dragging it over to Danny. That accomplished, he retook his position by the door and closed his eyes, obviously ready to sleep. “Steve? I can’t sleep here.”  
  
One eye cracked open and the tiger looked at him before rolling over and presenting his back to Danny, conversation clearly over as far as he was concerned.  
  
“Fine, but I’m not finished with you. We’re going to discuss this in the morning, McGarrett.” Digging what he needed out of the duffel, Danny took refuge in the attached bath for a minute. He was just going to have to deal with this in the morning…he had learned it was impossible to argue with a McGarrett that couldn’t argue back.  
  


H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50

  
  
The warmth next to Danny made him burrow closer without thinking, that moment between wakefulness and sleeping not letting his brain remember that he wasn’t married anymore and there shouldn’t be another weight in bed with him. His hand reached out; stroking the skin next to him and it was the hard firm muscles rather than smooth curves that actually woke him up. He blinked his blue eyes open to meet Steve’s hazel ones. And the fact that it doesn’t freak him out probably doesn’t bother him as much as it should. Until he realized Steve was still naked…and laying on top of the covers. “Steve,” he hissed as he tried to dig the blanket out from under the other man’s body, “my  _daughter_  is down the hall!”  
  
Steve winced. “Um, actually, Kono and Chin came and got her about two hours ago. I didn't figure it'd be a problem if they took her swimming."  
  
"They had better  _not_  be teaching her to SURF, McGarrett!"  
  
Steve rolled, pinning Danny beneath his body. “Relax, Danno. They didn’t take her to North Shore or anywhere dangerous. They’re swimming at Waikiki which is probably the least dangerous beach on the island and we’re going to meet them for a late breakfast.” He nuzzled against the smaller man’s neck, trying to get him to relax. “We’re all well aware of your feelings about surfing and bikinis and Grace. But…” He gave in, unable to resist with Danny so close and ghosted his mouth across the other man’s throat and mouth, stealing a taste. “I also know how mad you were last night and figured we were going to yell at each other. I didn’t want Grace to hear that.”  
  
Danny took advantage of Steve’s distracted state, planting his feet and heaving. Normally he wouldn’t be able to dislodge the other man, not because Steve was heavier, but he tended to make sure he immobilized Danny when he pinned him. Moving quickly Danny reversed their positions, crouching above Steve, his knees on either side of the man’s slim hips and his hands flat on the bed. “Don’t call me ‘Danno’.”  
  
Steve smirked up at him, not in the least bit perturbed to find himself under Danny. Reaching up, he threaded a hand into the hair on the back of Danny’s head, slowly pulling him downwards. His other hand moved to Danny’s back, spreading across the skin there as if soaking up as much as he could.  
  
The entire time Danny’s head moved slowly, inevitablely closer, Steve kept his eyes locked on the other man’s, waiting for any sign that Danny didn’t want this. By the time their mouths met, they were both breathing heavily and it wasn’t so much a kiss as a claiming as Steve’s tongue swept into Danny’s mouth finally learning his taste as well as drawing needy whimpers from him.  
  
“You’re right,” Steve admitted softly when Danny finally pulled away, needing more than the air they had been sharing.  
  
It took a second, but Steve’s words finally permeated the fog Danny’s brain had fallen into. “The  _fuck_?!” he demanded. “I’m  _right_?! What the hell do you mean I’m  _RIGHT_?!”  
  
Steve shrugged, smooth muscles rolling beneath his skin, and doing interesting things to the places where he and Danny were still pressed together. “Just that. You’re right. I haven’t been telling you the whole story.”  
  
Danny sat upright, ignoring the hard press of Steve’s cock against his ass, and waved his hands in agitation. “No. No!  _No_! You do  _not_  get to do this! You do  _not_  get to derail me by crawling into bed with me. Naked! And kissing me! And then telling me I’m right! No!”  
  
Steve bit his lip to avoid laughing at the man above him. “You do realize you sound most offended by me being naked right? And that you’re the one sitting on top of me?”  
  
Danny glared at him before scrambling off the bed. “Get up! And put some pants on!”  
  
Steve stretched for a minute, but another glare from Danny had him rolling off the bed and sauntering over to the dresser. Danny rubbed a hand over his face, trying to ignore the acres of bare tan skin in front of him. There was absolutely no reason for him to gravitate towards Steve as the other man rifled through the drawers, looking for something to wear. Finally Steve gave up on dragging out the moment and pulled a pair of cargo shorts out of the drawer, pulling them up over his hips and fastening them. Turning around, he faced Danny, crossing his arms over his chest. “Aren’t you at all happy I said you were right?”  
  
“No because you’re using it to derail me,” Danny replied.  
  
Steve sighed. “I’m not. Really I’m not. Do you get that this is difficult for me? I’ve never had to explain all this to someone. I never expected to have to explain this. And in case you haven’t noticed…”  
  
“Communication isn’t your strong point. Yeah I got that.” Danny sighed too as he realized his anger was pretty much gone. In this case, he really couldn’t stay angry with Steve. The man was only trying to protect himself. “Wait, what do you mean you haven’t had to explain this?”  
  
Steve’s hands clutched at his arms, obviously wanting to reach for something else. “Can we do this elsewhere? I’ll talk to you. Yell with you. Whatever. But can we do it outside or in another room?”  
  
Danny frowned at him. “Why?”  
  
“Because right now all I can smell in here is how horny you were when you woke up and it’s driving me insane,” Steve snapped.  
  
Danny blinked before spinning around and leaving the room, unable to actually respond to that. Steve hung his head for a minute, then followed after Danny tracking him down on the lanai. “I’m sorry,” he said softly when Danny didn’t turn and face him, but continued staring at the ocean.  
  
“No, just no,” Danny replied. “You don’t get to say shit like that to me when you’re getting your rocks off with Catherine. You don’t…you just don’t get to jerk me around like this anymore, Steve. Either you’re honest with me. Or I’m done with this crap. We’re partners at Five-O and that’s it. I’m done.”  
  
“Please.” Steve reached towards him. “Please, you can’t.” Dropping down, he didn’t feel anything as he hit the lanai, the idea that Danny might leave him, that he might not have him anymore blinding him to everything else.  
  
Danny moved to him, gathering the taller man into his arms, not even realizing he’d done it until he felt the weight of the other man against him. “Stop it,” he told him. “Just…” He shifted his weight, trying to find a comfortable position for the two of them. “God, how do we end up in this situation?”  
  
Steve mumbled something and Danny jostled him, indicating he wanted him to repeat it. “We’re stubborn bastards,” he said.  
  
Danny leaned against the chair near-by. “We are? More like you are.” He kissed the side of Steve’s head. “I have no idea what to do with you.”  
  
“I’m not fucking Catherine,” Steve said quietly. “I’m not saying I never did. And I’m not saying I didn’t since I met you, but I’m not now. What do you want to know?”  
  
Danny shifted, the position they were in aggravating his knee and not being kind to the rest of his body either. “Could we sit on a chair?” he asked. “I think you have one big enough to hold two people, but the concrete is killing me.”  
  
“Of course.” Steve quickly got to his feet, pulling Danny up after him and running hands over his knee. He herded the other man over to a chair, settling him in and fussing over him until Danny batted his hands away and pulled Steve down to sit with him. For a few minutes, Steve just soaked in the comfort of having Danny so close to him, the treat of bare skin that he was apparently allowed to touch since when he spread his fingers across Danny’s torso the other man didn’t protest. “What do you want to know?” he finally asked.  
  
“I don’t know where to start,” Danny admitted.  
  
“I stopped seeing Catherine,” Steve admitted. “I’ve known since I met you who and what you were, but I didn’t, I couldn’t do that to you. It’s extremely rare for the…bond to work that way. And if you didn’t know, if I didn’t tell you everything…then I just…”  
  
“What is  _everything_?” Danny asked.  
  
“You’re my hoa hana.” The smile on Steve’s face was one Danny hadn’t seen before and for just a moment, he enjoyed it. Then Steve started talking again, “It’s deeper than just partners or lovers or…just. Danny, I can’t explain it. It’s a mate bond and lifelong and…I’m…I don’t know how to tell you about it.”  
  
“So what? We’re pre-destined?” Danny asked.  
  
Steve nodded. “It’s always been that way. There’s one person who just…fits. Who makes everything easier, not painless, but easier. Control is easier, shifting is easier, just everything is…”  
  
“Yeah, I get it, it’s easier.”  
  
“And everything is heightened.” Steve nuzzled Danny. “And you feel soo good. At first it’s almost like being high. After a while it’ll get better, won’t be as bad and I’ll be able to control myself, but right now? It’s all I can do not to just rub myself all over you and fuck you senseless.” He traced a finger down Danny’s bicep. “And pick the perfect place to mate mark you.”  
  
Danny sat up; trying to put together everything Steve had and hadn’t told him. “Is that you talking or the damn tiger?”  
  
“It’s me. All of me,” Steve explained. “There really isn’t a separation between me and the tiger, as much as I sometimes wish there was. I know it’s difficult and I’m asking a lot of you, but I can’t change things.”  
  
Twisting around, Danny faced Steve. “What you’re saying is…if we do this? We’re tied to each other? Forever?”  
  
Steve nodded slowly. “Essentially yes. We don’t have to spend every waking minute together, but yes. I mean there’s more to it, but yeah.”  
  
Danny shook his head. “I can’t. I can’t deal with this right now. I need to get Grace. And think about this. And…damn but this explains a hell of a lot.” He sighed at the look Steve was giving him. “Stop with the drowned kitten look. It’s not going to sway me this time.”  
  
Steve hung his head, pulling in on himself, and Danny couldn’t stop himself from reaching for him. Now he knew  _why_  he was drawn to the other man, but it didn’t mean he could stop himself. “We’ll figure it out.”  
  
Steve lifted his head. “We have to do it soon. Or you have to get as far away from me as you can.”  
  
“Why?”  
  
“I’m going to go into rut soon and with you near…” Steve took a deep breath and locked eyes with Danny. “I’m going to want to claim you.” He drew a finger down the muscles on Danny’s arm. “Going to want to mark you. Want to make you mine in every way possible.” The heat in his eyes was unmistakable. “And if we wait until then I’m not going to be able to stop myself.”  
  
Danny swallowed hard, both turned on and a bit unnerved by the look in Steve’s eyes. “Oh, crap.” 


End file.
